Remember Me
by Yuruya
Summary: AU. People normally have a hard time remembering memories from their early childhood. But on Yu's case, …okay, his case was the same with the others. But deep down, he knew he's forgetting something—someone important.
1. Chapter 1:Lucky Girl

**Was originally a comic, but I got tired drawing right after chapter 1 lol**

**Oh well.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Lucky Girl**

"I-I really like you, senpai!"

There they were, standing far outside the gymnasium. Warm breeze danced in the air as the sun began to set. The graduation ceremony had just ended, and people were bidding their final goodbyes to each other, some were brought to tears. They chose an isolated place so that no one could interrupt them. She pursed her lips as she watched Yu's every movement. "Well?" The silence was deafening and she didn't want to be left in the air. "At least let me know what you think!" Her voice trembled as she clenched her fists.

_God, _Yu was staring at his feet. _I'm terrible at this._ He inwardly cursed at the heavenly beings above for making him go through this every time. Every _single_ time. Why must he suffer in situations like this over and over again? It's getting a bit tiresome. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt the girl's stare at him intensified. _Here goes nothing, I guess. _He blessed her with his charming smile that made the girl's heart skip a beat. "Well if I have to be honest, I'm glad that you feel that way towards me." He saw the way her eyes widened in expectation. "B-but—!" Yu raised both his hands quickly. "I'm sorry. I, uh, hmm…"_I better choose the right words to avoid any misunderstandings and the like. That's the last thing I want to deal with. _ "In truth, there's someone else that I—"He stopped when he heard her sigh.

"…it's okay, senpai. No need to explain." She let out a small chuckle. "I don't know why I'm even doing this…" That caught Yu off-guard. Seeing the shock on his face, she continued. "I saw it all coming. It's obvious that I have no chance against her…_whoever she is_." There was something bitter in her tone that made the last part seemed like a lie.

"Haru-chan, look, I—"

"No, you don't. I was just really stupid to think that you'd actually have feelings for me… I knew you didn't, but I wanted to believe. Sadly, everyone knows you already have your eye set out on someone." Her eyes trailed somewhere behind Yu and he could've swore she smiled melancholically. "I'll get going then, senpai. I'm sorry for troubling you…" She started walking back to the entrance gate but made a quick glance back at Yu. "I still really like you, Yu-senpai!" She quickly left the place.

When Yu was sure that she was out of sight, he let out a huge sigh, scratching the back of his head. "I hate my life."

"…says the guy who has everyone wrapped around his fingertips." Yu turned around to where the small yet loud voice emanated. Sure enough, it came from a girl wearing a ponytail who was bouncing on the heels of her feet. "She's like, what, the 4th one this week?" Yu watched as she made her way towards him. "She was crying when she left… Not that I care though. She was a real bully, so I guess you did a good job!" He didn't want to, but he could feel himself smiling bit by bit. Her boisterous personality is really contagious.

"Ah, so you were being bullied by her? Haha, you should've told me. I could've dealt with it for you." The look she made at him was a mix of shock and confusion. "What?"

"Whaaat! No way! She can't bully me even if she tried!" She paused. "Besides… I tried telling you, but…" she was muttering something, but held back. Yu was disappointed when she changed the subject. "Anyway, let's just go home." As she walked forward, Yu grabbed her by her shoulders, stopping her. "Uh…What's up?" Yu stretched out his hand and revealed a button.

"I kinda forgot to give this to you. Take it."

"..?" She hesitated at first, but took it in the end. She raised it to her eye-level and observed it carefully. Noticing that Yu's uniform was lacking a button, she confirmed it _was _his. "…Weird. Why'd you give this to me?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "Don't you know about that tradition wherein the guy gives the gir—"

"I know that tradition. I just don't know why you're giving it to me." Yu watched as she played with her bangs, trying to hide the blush that was appearing on her face. "I mean, you only give this to a certain girl that um, you like. And when I say 'like', it means… oh you know what it means!" They both stared at each other for a while.

"Sorry, what?"

"I thought you'd give this to someone else…"

Yu didn't know what to say. "To who?"

"I dunno." She shrugged. "I was hoping you'd tell me." They looked at each other that seemed forever, neither one was backing down. "Yu-chan? Are you spacing out again? Hey, snap out of it."

_Yu-chan—?_

_Ahahaha! Wow, you're so slow, Yu-chan! —Catch m— if you can—!_

_Hey, ar—y—hurt—? Here, le— fix it f— you—!_

—_Yu—ch—n—d—nt—me—! _

"Yu!" She gently shook him by his arms as she stood on her toes. The silver-haired boy was too tall that the girl almost barely reached his shoulders. "Hey, you're crying…"


	2. Chapter 2:Familiarity

**Chapter 2: Familiarity**

"I heard you were moving. Again."

The two of them sat on a park bench near the pond. It was a perfectly normal sunny afternoon, and Yu watched as the girl fed the nearby pigeons with bread crumbs. After the excruciating events of last week, they've come to a silent agreement to never bring that up again.

"So you better tell me why you cried like a baby before you leave, okay?"

Or at least, that's what Yu hoped for.

"Ah, I'm all out…" The girl sighed as she crumpled up the empty bag of bread crumbs and slipped it inside her sling bag. She patiently waited for Yu to answer, only to receive a nervous cough and an awkward smile. "Pleaaase! I won't laugh, promise!" Yu stared as she pouted and clasped her hands in front of her. There're those puppy eyes again that he can't look away from.

_Agh. Why must all girls be so complicated? _Yu sighed. _But no, there _was _one girl who wasn't so troublesome… _

_Yu-chan?_

_Hey, Doncha wanna play?_

_Eh? Well, that's no good! No wonder he always catches you!_

_Ya hafta run really fast, so he can't catch ya! Here, I'll teach you!_

_Like this!_

_Ahahaha! Wow, you're so slow, Yu-chan! Catch me if you can!_

_Oh! Sorry! My hair kinda blocked my view so I kinda… _

_Ahehe, It's an accident, promise!_

_Huh? I smell like what? Strawberries? Hnn… I think it's more of a citrusy fruit, but okay._

_Maybe I should start tying my hair up, huh? It's really a bother, though._

_Don't worry, if he ever makes fun of you, I'll scold him!_

Before he could even notice, his daydream already ended and Yu was magically lying on the ground with his front meeting the ground. He promptly sat up and saw that familiar ponytailed lass hiding behind the bench. As if automatically, she stood up and pretended finishing her stretching exercise, briefly saying "4, 3, 2, and 1! Woo! I feel so pumped! Yeah! I was _definitely_ exercising and did _not_ accidentally push you off the bench if _that's_ what you're thinking! Ha..ha…" It was obvious that she was lying. She wasn't really a good liar.

His head was throbbing a bit, and it was probably because his head ungracefully collided with the not-so-soft-ground. Getting up to his feet, Yu dusted himself off and glared at the girl. It didn't seem to bother her though since she was looking at him thoughtfully.

"Have I told you that you've spaced out again? It might seem like a regular thing but I think you have a concussion. Wanna go see a doctor?" Yu wasn't sure if she was joking or not. She has a bad sense of humor, so maybe she _is _just joking. But seeing the serious look on her face, maybe Yu was wrong.

He carefully groped his head, looking for where the pain was coming from. "The only concussion I have is this. Thanks to you." He flinched when he touched the upper-left corner of his forehead. He saw the girl taking out a cold bottle of water from her bag and giving it to him. "…Thanks."

They both sat back at the bench, but Yu made sure to keep the gap between them bigger. The girl didn't seem to notice. "Uh…" She played with her fingers as she stared at the ground. "Um, So! You're moving away again! Aheh..!" _Not this topic again, please. Just please stop talking. _The girl can see the exasperated look on his face, and she did not like it. "Which reminds me! You're moving to where again? In a what…? In a barn, was it?"

She saw him blink. Yu looked at her and blinked again. She saw how his lips curved into smile and how he ended up laughing. His laugh was too loud that people started looking at their direction. Yu didn't seem to notice that and the girl didn't seem to mind. His laughter died off but he's still wearing a smile. "It's Inaba, silly girl." She was still looking at him, waiting for him to continue. "I'll be moving there some time this week. Don't miss me too much, okay?" He tried to joke, but it seemed like the girl took it seriously. She nodded as she tried to smile. "Hey, I was just joking. You're really horrible with jokes, you know that?" He saw her mutter something under her breath. Probably about him deliberately ignoring the 'topic' or something like that. "Don't curse. It's not lady-like."

"Shut up. I wasn't cursing, idiot." She stuck out her tongue in a child-like manner.

_You're as childish as her, huh? _Yu stared at her thoughtfully as he chuckled. _I guess 'she' was as troublesome as you, too._

* * *

After walking her home, Yu's feet dragged him to the station. Weird enough, there weren't any people around and it was only around 5pm. Unconsciously, his hand picked up a brochure from the rack. It was a map regarding the train stations. He had no idea what he was looking for, but he still searched for it nonetheless, whatever _it_ was. "…!"

..._Iwatodai, huh?_


	3. Chapter 3: P and P's

**Chapter 3: P and P's**

In a few days, whether Yu wanted to or not, he has to move in with his uncle for the new semester. His parents reminded him more times than he can count that he should start pack up his essentials. He was planning to, but Yu just wasn't feeling it today. He wanted to chill and lay back.

Despite the weird heavenly force that's tempting his hand to reach for his phone and press that speed-dial button, he shook his head and ignored it. "Why would I…" Yu complained. _"_…I don't even…." He sighed as he threw his cellphone at the couch. He didn't want to seem clingy. It was not his style.

Besides, if she wanted to talk to him, she would definitely give him a call. Yu was certain of that.

He was alone for the day since both his parents had jobs to attend to. His father works at a company while his mother as a photographer. His mom made a habit to take atleast one picture a day. Their house was filled with photos.

Trying to distract himself, Yu grabbed whatever he could at the bookshelves at the living room. It was a photo album. It was from when Yu's parents were in college.

His finger traced the pictures as he flipped through the photo album he took. His father looked young, probably around 20 years old. He was always surrounded by people in his pictures. By the looks of it, his father was just as popular as he is. Only difference is, his father really enjoyed it.

Out of the entire album, there were probably only 5 pictures of his parents together. There were different women in every picture. "Wow. He's such a player." From what Yu remembers, his parents were just old schoolmates back then. They weren't _sweethearts_. Majority of the pictures were out of focus and looked as though they were stolen photos. _Oh wait…_

…_My mom was a stalker._

Yu remembered having a 'man-to-man' talk with his dad. It involves stuffs about 'being careful who to date' and the like. His father loves his mother very much, but was shocked when he saw all those photos, especially since Yu's mom looked like the innocent-timid type and not the stalker-type.

"Good thing mom isn't stalker-ish anymore. I wouldn't be able to tolerate her." Yu closed the book as he stood. He was about to put it back the shelf when a picture fell from the album. Yu hadn't seen the picture before. It was his father again. Unlike the other pictures, his father looked genuinely happy, and a bit red on the face. Right next to him, there was a familiar-looking stranger.

A beautiful girl with long auburn hair.

She had her arm wrapped around his father's neck in a tomboyish way (it didn't seem weird since she still looks amazing) and they seemed really close. Flipping the picture backwards, there were handwritings. It looked feminine, so Yu assumed it was written by that auburn-haired girl.

Just as he was about to read what it says, the phone rang, making Yu jump in surprise and drop the picture. He wanted to ignore it, but answered it anyway.

"Yu-kun? Sorry, but could you check on the laundry for me? I think I left it outside. It looks like it's going to rain, so I called."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Yu nodded, promptly saying "Ok, mom." after realizing that she couldn't see him nodding.

"That's my good boy! Oh, do you want any snacks? I'll make sure to buy some before getting home!" Her voice brightened up and Yu felt a bit embarrassed.

"It's fine, Mom. See ya later." Yu said as he returned the phone. He suddenly remembered about the photo and forgot where it fell. "Come on! It was just here a moment ago." He dropped to his knees to look under the chairs and tables.

None.

The phone rang again and he seriously wanted to ignore it. He kept searching for the photo everywhere. Over the carpet, under the carpet, beside the nightlamp, near the T.V. under the sofa. On the sofa.

Nowhere.

He even looked behind the picture frames! (it was obviously impossible for it to be there. That's how desperate he is!)

He didn't leave the living room, so it must be there somewhere. His cellphone started to ring as well, and Yu had no choice but to answer. "What now?" Yu's voice came out like a growl.

"Yu? This is your father." _Crap. Of all people…_

"O-oh. What is it, Dad?"

"I tried calling at home but no one was answering. Did you go off to somewhere again?" Even though Yu and his dad are pretty much carbon copies of each other, Yu wondered where his uptight personality came from. He didn't look strict at his pictures. If anything, he looked really juvenile.

"I was just, uh… meditating." His palm meeting his forehead, Yu felt ashamed for saying such a lame excuse. "What's up, Dad?" Yu tried changing the subject.

"I received a call from your mother." _Crap. "_She wanted me to ask you if you took the laundry inside." _Double crap. I definitely forgot about it. _He looked outside, seeing the sky being dark and gloomy.

"S-sorry dad. I'll do it right now."

Yu heard him sigh. "Okay. I'll tell your mother that you're done, though. Bye."

As soon as the call ended, Yu rushed outside to grab the clothes from the clothesline. When he was about to finish, it suddenly started raining hard. Few of the clothes got wet, but since it was Yu's old uniform, he can hide it somewhere and clean it again before his mother finds out about it.

The phone rang for the nth time, and despite almost blowing a fuse, Yu made sure to answer it, whoever it is. "Narukami residence. Yu Narukami speaking."

What greeted him was his mother's upbeat voice. "Yu-kun~! Hmm? '_Why'd I call_', you ask? Because it's fun talking on the phone! Oh, I remember this one time when your father and I—Yu-kun? Hello? Ehhhh, he hung up!"

* * *

The phone kept ringing for the past 30 minutes. "My mom couldn't be _that_ desperate to talk to somebody, right? I heard she's somewhat popular at work." Yu still couldn't find the photo, so he gave up and was browsing through another photo album. Despite the phone ringing, the hard rain on the ceilings and the thunders booming loudly, Yu blocked all the noises in his head, not paying them any mind.

"Eh?" There were other booming sounds that Yu is hearing. Someone was banging on the door. Not knowing who it was, Yu grabbed the night-lamp on the table and brought it with him to the door. With his left hand on the lamp and his right hand on the knob, Yu braced himself for impact. He quickly opened the door and—

"…What are you doing?"

The ponytailed-lass greeted him with her shivering shoulders and her messy, wet hair. She was wearing a saggy white polo shirt, making her skin almost visib—

Yu face-palmed and quickly looked away from her. "That's my line. You should've told me you were coming."

"I-i…" She sneezed. Loudly. "…I tried calling for the last 30 minutes. The phone was always busy. Either that, or you weren't answering." She was rubbing her arm while she wiped the wet bangs away. "You better make it up for me..."

Yu turned around completely, trying to avoid getting a glimpse at his very wet friend. "Alright. Jeez. Let's talk inside. Watch your step."


End file.
